1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a braking-and/or blocking device for load carrying, flexible pulling means, for example, belts or ropes, which device can be activated by a load on the pulling means, and which causes the braking of the pulling means by friction-or form-fitting clamping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known devices comprising braking mechanisms for pulling means, for example, a safety belt, wherein, at activation of the braking mechanism, the belt is securely mechanically clamped between suitably formed clamping jaws, and thus a further pulling-out of the belt is prevented. At this clamping process, the belt fabric is locally very strongly squeezed, and damaged thereby, so that after extended use, or at the occurrence of extreme forces, frequently the damaged belt can not withstand the load. On the other hand, there are also known restraining systems with braking devices for safety belts, wherein the belt is partly wrapped around several braking rollers, so that when activated, i.e. when the belt is under heavy load, the belt band is braked by the static friction between the belt surface and the roller surface. Hereby, in order to block the belt without slippage, a great number of sequentially arranged braking rollers is required.